Tag Archives: Bentley

Series goes behind the scenes with makers of Maserati, Lamboghini, Bentley and Aston Martin

NEW YORK – The new Smithsonian Channel four-part series, SUPERCAR SUPERBUILD, premiering Sunday, February 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, goes behind the inherent beauty, amazing mechanical prowess, and basic building process of Maserati, Lamborghini, Bentley and Aston Martin, four of the world’s leading luxury automakers, as they attempt to produce what they hope is their next iconic car.

They’re rare. They’re beautiful. They’re expensive. They not only push the performance envelope, they rip it wide open. Yet every supercar shares one thing in common: they all have a unique story to tell. There is often high-stakes pressure, impossible deadlines, secret meetings, remarkable engineering challenges, and, of course, dynamic styling.

These are the machines that stand at the zenith of childhood imagination and adult obsession. They are the vehicles that light fantasies, capture hearts, and make some wish they were wealthy enough to afford them. But to create them is an art all its own. In each of these stories lies a dedicated team of passionate automotive artisans that overcome tremendous obstacles as they dream big and think outside of the box in order to create the ultimate cars for enthusiasts around the world. Each hour-long episode of SUPERCAR SUPERBUILD takes an in-depth look at the origin, design, challenges, and performance of the vehicles.

Among the experts heard from in SUPERCAR SUPERBUILD are Car and Driver editor Tony Quiroga and Road & Track’s Jason Cammisa, who provide industry context to what each of the manufacturers is looking to accomplish with the new models they’re designing.

The series premiere of SUPERCAR SUPERBUILD: MASERATI takes a look at the Italian car company and its attempt to broaden its appeal with a new mid-size sedan, the Ghibli. For years they’ve had success with their signature car, the Quattroporte. For the past decade Maserati has sold six thousand cars a year, but the bottom line is they need to sell more. They believe the Ghibli, which is being designed for everyday usage and is basically a smaller version of the Quattroporte, will help grow their business nearly ten-fold.

Other episodes of Supercar Superbuild include:SUPERCAR SUPERBUILD: LAMBORGHINI
Premieres Sunday, February 21st at 9 p.m. ET/PTIn November 2013, the last Lamborghini Gallardo rolled off the assembly line. After more than 14,000 Gallardos, Lamborghini’s most popular model, it is the end of an era. Perhaps more importantly, it is the end of the single most successful supercar model ever produced in Italy. Now Lamborghini has designed a new machine called the Huracàn. Can it live up to the legacy of the Gallardo?

SUPERCAR SUPERBUILD: BENTLEY CONTINENTAL
Premieres Sunday, February 28th at 9 p.m. ET/PTWhen it was introduced in 2003, the Bentley Continental GT was the world’s fastest 2+2 coupé with a top speed of 198 mph. Singlehandedly it resuscitated the grand touring genre. But now the platform has aged and competitors are nipping at the Bentley’s heels. Their answer is the Continental GT V8 S, a faster, lighter, more fuel-efficient machine with four fewer cylinders in its engine.

SUPERCAR SUPERBUILD: ASTON MARTIN
Premieres Sunday, March 6th at 9 p.m. ET/PTAston Martin can’t afford to make any mistakes. They are one of the last true independent automotive manufacturers. To stay relevant and to fend off competitors who are part of multi-national global conglomerates with nearly unlimited resources, the brand needs a new machine. Something brave and bold that stands out. Aston’s solution is the V12 Vantage S, a supercar that owes its entire existence to a handful of engineers sitting at a pub and an old American Hot-Rodder’s trick.

SUPERCAR SUPERBUILD is produced by Cry Havoc Productions. Executive producer for Cry Havoc is Dylan Weiss. David Royle and Charles Poe serve as executive producers for Smithsonian Channel.

Smithsonian Channel, owned by Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between Showtime Networks Inc. and the Smithsonian Institution, is where curiosity lives, inspiration strikes and wonders never cease. This is the place for awe-inspiring stories, powerful documentaries and amazing entertainment across multiple platforms.

Smithsonian Channel combines the storytelling prowess of SHOWTIME® with the unmatched resources and rich traditions of the Smithsonian, to create award-winning programming that shines new light on popular genres such as air and space, history, science, nature, and pop culture. Among the network’s offerings are series including Aerial America, Million Dollar American Princesses, The Weapon Hunter,Mighty Ships, Mighty Planes and Air Disasters, as well as critically-acclaimed specials that include Civil War 360, 9/11: The Heartland Tapes;MLK: The Assassination Tapes and The Day Kennedy Died. Find out more at http://www.smithsonianchannel.com. Smithsonian Networks also operates Smithsonian Earth, a new subscription video streaming service delivering spectacular original nature and wildlife content.

When customers also specify the highly popular Mulliner Driving Specification, in combination with Beluga specification, the striking 21” 6-spoke Extrovert wheel is included. The Mulliner Driving Specification includes diamond quilted hides, a knurled gear lever, drilled alloy pedals and an indented hide headlining.

In 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 guise it develops 500 hp, sprinting from 0-60 mph in just 4.9 seconds (0-100km/h in 5.2 seconds) while at the same time offering a crushing range of 500 miles. The athletic design of the Flying Spur combines traditional Bentley styling cues with a dynamic stance and contemporary details, further enhanced in the Beluga specification.

Upgrades for 2015 include exquisite cabin gains, modern and tactile new features, and onboard WiFi to maintain Bentley’s reputation for interior style and usability.

Flying Spur V8 Beluga is available to order now worldwide with first customer deliveries in the fall

BY GERRY MILES

It’s not hard to believe that many of us have champagne wishes and caviar dreams despite a beer budget in reality.

It’s also little surprise that a Bentley, and not just any Bentley, is found atop a magazines top gear and gadget year end edition.

Bentley’s Continental GT3-R, the rarest and most dynamic member of the esteemed Continental family of Grand Tourers, is the top dog in Wired magazine’s annual Gear of the Year special edition.

Jeremy White, product editor, noted: “The Bentley GT3-R was chosen to be in the Rides section as we thought it was superb and a truly innovative piece of engineering – taking inspiration from the brand’s racing heritage and marrying this with cutting edge materials, manufacturing and technology to produce a superlative car.”

The Continental GT3-R made its global debut on the Bentley Stand at the Goodwood Festival of Speed – the fastest-accelerating Bentley ever produced. Inspired by Bentley’s race-winning Continental GT3 racer, the GT3-R is powered by Bentley’s race- and road-proven 4.0 litre V8 engine, producing 580 PS and 700 Nm of torque. A weight reduction of 100 kg combines with torque vectoring and shorter gearing to deliver a breathtaking driving experience.

The Continental GT3-R is limited to just 300 copies, which are all hand-built in Crewe.

In February 2015, the GT3-R will be in the icy north of Finland for Power on Ice, the flagship experience that elevates the concept of ice driving to the extreme. The Continental GT3-R completes the most powerful Bentley line up yet, making its debut on the frozen lakes piloted by four-time World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by this from Bentley. They’ve put their name on skis before. They’ve ventured out into the large, luxury SUV world and now the home.

Copying er, inspired by the interior of their Bentley cars, the Home furniture collection boasts traditional and modern design in subtle ways that blend function with performance (do you sense a trend here?) that also understates quality.

The new Richmond pieces can be swathed in leather or a fine veneer of burr walnut. Simply put, whatever you could order on four wheels is likely available here.

The color palette is composed of varying neutral tones of ivory and taupe matched with shades of beige and cream.

The new collection consists of:

Richmond chair

Richmond

Seating that includes sofas, chaise longues and armchairs. The enveloping external structure can have a veneer finish or leather cover.

Madeley & Kendal

A large oval or round meeting table with refined Kendal leather chairs boast the Bentley logo, which can be embroidered on the back, on request. A trapezoidal structured table made of curved wood panels with edges in hand-made leather coating. Steel feet have a gun-metal finish.

Sherbourne & Kingsbridge

Kingsbridge Cabinet

Tall and short leather-coated cabinets with veneered fronts; these are also available in smooth or quilted leather. Tone-on-tone interiors with external coatings and shelves of crystal represent the quality of Bentley and Club House Italia, part of the Luxury Living Group. The steel handles and feet have a gun-metal grey finish.

Harlow

Harlow Coffee Tables

A modern coffee table with metal steel structure and a complimentary gun-metal grey inish.

The surface is made from onyx or leather coated.

Canterbury

Canterbury Bed

The bed is set off by an imposing (read: oversized) headboard, embracing coated structure available in leather or fabric. The shapes are soft and inviting in a formal yet informal way.

An innovative duvet cover, Fibra di Legno®, is a high-quality fabric made from wood pulp that gives the yarn softness and smoothness, adding to the luxurious feel of this piece.

BY GERRY MILES

Just when you think the SUV craze has slowed, giving way to the now popular term “crossover” another firm pops up to offer a new take on the popular model.

Bentley Motors today confirmed it has given the green light to an SUV that will create over 1,000 jobs in the UK, be built at Crewe with an on sale target of 2016 and of course meet all the requirements and guidelines that goes into every Bentley motor car.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who was present together with Dr Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Volkswagen Group for the announcement at Bentley headquarters in Crewe, said: “This £800 million investment and a thousand new jobs from Bentley is fantastic news for both Crewe and for the UK as a whole. One sector that we know is sprinting ahead in the global race is our booming automotive industry. One vehicle rolls off a production line somewhere in the UK every 20 seconds and we have just launched the Government’s Automotive Industrial Strategy to help continue this success for years to come.”

Dr Winterkorn said: “The Volkswagen Group believes in the UK as a competitive location for industrial production. Bentley fans all around the world are looking forward to the brand’s first SUV. Together we will make this new Bentley another true Bentley – powerful, exclusive and successful.”

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “This is a welcome commitment to the UK from a major international car maker. Our automotive industrial strategy proves this government’s commitment to working with world-class companies like Bentley to create jobs and promote exports.

“Bentley was the first firm I visited as a government minister and serves as a real example of high value manufacturing. They export more than four out of every five cars they make in the UK to the rest of the world.”

Bentley’s Chairman and Chief Executive, Dr Wolfgang Schreiber, added: “This is excellent news for Bentley and for the UK. Bentley is increasingly successful and this new fourth model line will leverage the success of the global SUV market. The support of everyone involved with the Company has been fundamental to this decision, which will ensure sustainable growth for the company.”

According to the presser, it’ll be the most luxurious and likely expensive and powerful SUV in the motoring world. Whether it’ll bear a striking resemblance to the Concept pictures shown below from the Beijing 2012 show, of course, remains to be seen.

‘Lalique for Bentley Crystal Edition’

“Bentley and Lalique have a similar history. Both companies were founded almost 100 years ago. Both stand for craftsmanship and tradition, but also for luxury, lifestyle and innovation. To create a fragrance together is to capture the essence of our skills and our vision in a bottle,” says Silvio Denz, CEO of Lalique.

The eau de parfum itself, composed by Mylène Alran, from the French perfume house Robertet, is a fitting elixir of fine woody notes and exquisite leather to complement the epicentres of excellence within Bentley’s craftsmanship.

The ‘Lalique for Bentley Crystal Edition’ showcases the finest glassmaking expertise and is limited to only 999 pieces, available at a number of carefully selected retailers from April 2013.

‘Bentley for Men’ and ‘Intense’ range

The ‘Bentley for Men’ and the high-impact ‘Bentley for Men Intense’ fragrances are created by top French perfumer Nathalie Lorson, from the perfume house Firmenich. She has skilfully transformed the quintessence of the luxury automotive brand Bentley into a superb and unmistakeable fragrance experience. To do so, the finest perfume raw ingredients have been used, including those must-haves for Bentley’s debut fragrance, fine wood and leather notes.

“I chose cedar because of its powerful unadulterated scent and patchouli for its sensual depth and natural elegance,” explains Nathalie.

The ‘Intense’ version will take these notes to another level by infusing the rich scent with aromatic African geranium. The bottle design echoes the luxury of the cars with an elegant symmetrical shape, striking appeal and a knurled ring around the top. Both captivating Bentley fragrances will be available at selected perfumeries and department stores from April 2013.